New Socceroos hero Awer Mabil offers support to Majak Daw

Al Ain: Socceroos star Awer Mabil has offered his full support to fellow Sudanese-Australian athlete Majak Daw after getting the ball rolling on his own effort to raise awareness for people suffering mental health issues.

Mabil's phone has lit up after he revealed the meaning behind his now-trademark goal celebration. It's only a few months old but has already gained global traction and will soon be paired with a hashtag, #AMChallenge, which could see it reach new levels on social media.

Peace of mind: Awer Mabil sends a message after scoring against Syria on Tuesday.Credit:AP

The 23-year-old scored his fourth goal in seven appearances for Australia in Tuesday night's 3-2 win over Syria, which booked the team a spot in the Asian Cup's round of 16.

As he wheeled away in celebration, he covered his mouth with one hand and then placed the index and middle fingers on his other hand on top, pointing them up towards his forehead.

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Second chance: Majak Daw takes a mark for the Kangaroos.Credit:AAP

The gesture is supposed to represent bringing "peace to the mind" of those who are battling mental illness or depression and to encourage them to speak up about their issues instead of bottling them up.

"We're trying to create something now, like a hashtag so people can send in their pictures or their celebration doing it," said Mabil, who was born in a Kenyan refugee camp to South Sudanese parents.

"I'm really excited to see [the reaction] and also happy that people are taking it on board and liking it. I'm really pleased for that."

Daw, an AFL player for North Melbourne, is a high-profile example. Mabil doesn't know him personally but said they had connected previously through social media and was surprised to learn that Daw had sustained serious injuries to his hip and pelvis after falling from the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne just before Christmas.

Daw wrote an open letter circulated by his club earlier this week, saying he had been blessed with a “second chance at life”. Whenever he is ready, he will have a sounding board in Mabil.

"One day I think we will link up together. I want to but also I have to respect his decision at the moment," Mabil said. "I'm just there to offer myself whenever he needs.

"So he just needs to take his time and when he's ready to come out and talk to some people, we'll be there to help him. I respect that he needs his privacy. I didn't want to straight away go and say 'hey, what's going on?'

We're trying to create something now, like a hashtag so people can send in their pictures or their celebration doing it.

Awer Mabil

"We're so far apart. I'm in Denmark and he's in Australia so the time difference is a lot. I was very surprised with what had happened. The only thing we can do is offer our full support if he needs it, whatever the reason might be, we can try to fix it all together."

Mabil had his own personal struggles after leaving Adelaide United to try his luck with Danish club FC Midtjylland as a teenager.

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He soon had his own support networks to lean on after meeting his girlfriend only a few months after moving abroad, but Mabil recognises just how easy it is to feel isolated, even as a professional athlete.

"The reason [people] go quiet is mainly because they don't know what the reaction is going to be from the mainstream society," he said. "A lot of people worry about what others think but I honestly think you should not be afraid of what others think.

"As long as you open your mind and open your heart you'll attract the right people. Those people who are afraid to open up, this is for them, for them to open up and make them feel this is okay."